Gary McSwegan

Gary McSwegan
Personal information
Full nameGary John McSwegan
Date of birth24 September 1970
Place of birthGlasgow, Scotland
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing positionStriker
Youth career
Rangers
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1986–1993Rangers18(4)
1993–1995Notts County62(21)
1995–1998Dundee United92(32)
1998–2002Heart of Midlothian82(25)
2001–2002Barnsley (loan)5(0)
2002Luton Town (loan)3(0)
2002–2004Kilmarnock63(17)
2004–2006Ross County34(1)
2006–2007Inverness CT9(0)
2008–2009Clyde23(2)
National team
1999Scotland2(1)
Scotland U21
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:54, 9 May 2009 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Gary John McSwegan (born 24 September 1970) is a Scottish former professional footballer. A striker, he began his career with Rangers, leaving to join Notts County in England. He returned to Scotland and had spells with Dundee United, Heart of Midlothian and Kilmarnock. Later in his career he went on to play for Ross County, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, and - finally - Clyde. He made two international appearances for Scotland whilst a Hearts player, and was also a Scotland under-21 internationalist.

Career

Domestic

McSwegan was born in Glasgow and started his career with Rangers, where he scored 5 goals in only 24 appearances during his six years at Ibrox, including a goal against Marseille in the 1992-93 Champions League; this goal was the first goal ever scored in the Champions League proper by a substitute. His first team opportunities at Rangers, however, appeared to be limited and in 1993 he joined Notts County for £400,000. Two seasons later he returned to Scotland with Dundee United for £375,000 where he remained for three seasons, scoring 42 goals.

He joined Hearts in 1998 on a free transfer where he notched up 31 goals in 98 appearances. By 2002, however, McSwegan had fallen out of favour at Hearts and subsequently had loan spells in England with Barnsley and Luton Town before joining Kilmarnock where he remained for two seasons, scoring 17 goals.

His next professional club was Ross County where he played 39 games, scoring just 1 goal against Queen of the South[1] in two injury-ravaged seasons. Despite these problems, McSwegan returned to top flight football, when signed by Inverness Caledonian Thistle in September 2006 on a short-term deal. McSwegan left Inverness Caledonian Thistle at the end of the 2006–07 season and joined Peterhead.

McSwegan joined Clyde on 14 March 2008, after previously training with the club and appearing in reserve games.[2] He made his debut the following day, in a 1-1 draw against Stirling Albion in the Scottish First Division. He scored his first goal for the club in the final league game of the season, scoring the first in a 3-0 win over Stirling Albion.[3] He then went on to score two goals in their successful relegation play offs in ties against Alloa[4] and Airdrie.[5] In June 2008, McSwegan signed a one-year contract extension with the Broadwood side.[6] He scored three goals in his second season, with two goals against Queen's Park in the League Cup[7] and a late winner in the league against Livingston.[8] This meant that all six of his goals for Clyde came in the Broadwood Stadium. McSwegan was released by Clyde in June 2009 along with the rest of the out of contract players, due to the club's financial position.[9]

International

McSwegan won two caps for Scotland in 1999. He won his first cap on 5 October 1999, coming on as a late substitute in a EURO 2000 qualifier against Bosnia and Herzegovina, which Scotland won 1-0. His second and final cap came four days later, against Lithuania. McSwegan started the game, and scored Scotland's second goal in a 3-0 victory.

Gary also coaches young people throughout Glasgow in his role with coaching and groupwork company A&M Training.

International goals

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 9 October 1999Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland  Lithuania 2–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 2000 Qual.

Career statistics

After 25 October 2008

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Scotland League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Total
1987–88RangersScottish Premier Division184N/AN/AN/A184
1988–89
1989–90
1990–91
1991–92
1992–93
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
1993–94Notts CountyFootball League First Division6221N/AN/A-6221
1994–95
1995–96Football League Second Division
Scotland League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Total
1995–96Dundee UnitedScottish First Division261730--2917
1996–97Scottish Premier Division3076121-389
1997–983252155464317
1998–99Scottish Premier League53-21-74
Heart of Midlothian20810--218
1999–0031133230-3715
2000–01265411041357
2001–0250---50
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2001–02Barnsley (loan)Football League First Division50---50
Luton Town (loan)Football League Second Division30---30
Scotland League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Total
2002–03KilmarnockScottish Premier League321110--3311
2003–043152110-346
2004–05Ross CountyScottish First Division170-20-190
2005–0616110--171
2006–07Inverness CTScottish Premier League9020--110
2007–08ClydeScottish First Division61---61
2008–0971-12-83

See also

References

  1. "QoS 2-3 Ross County". BBC. 26 November 2005. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  2. "Its Hammer Time". clydefc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 April 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
  3. "Clyde 3-0 Stirling Albion". BBC Sport. 26 April 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  4. "Clyde 5-3 Alloa Athletic (6-5)". BBC. 3 May 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  5. "Clyde 2-0 Airdrie United (3-0)". BBC. 10 May 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  6. "McSwegan extends stay with Clyde". BBC Sport. 25 June 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
  7. "Clyde 4-1 Queen's Park". BBC. 5 August 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  8. "Clyde 2-1 Livingston". BBC. 25 October 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  9. "Players Released". clydefc.co.uk. Retrieved 2 June 2009.

External links